With the race for the 11th Congressional District heating up, all four candidates vying for the seat are making their way to Cherokee County on Thursday to celebrate Independence Day and try their hand at pulling in the county’s votes.

The 11th District seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Phil Gingrey (R-Marietta) covers all of Cherokee County, in addition to all of Bartow and parts of Cobb and Fulton counties.

The four hopefuls who’ve announced their candidacy to date say they will be stopping in the county July 4 to try to pick up some of the votes.

State Sen. Barry Loudermilk (R-Cassville), who now represents part of Cherokee County in the state Senate thanks to redistricting last year, said he’ll be active in the county for the holiday.

“As usual, my Independence Day week and weekend are full,” Loudermilk said. “We’ll have people in just about every parade.”

Loudermilk said he will be walking in both Woodstock’s and Canton’s Fourth of July parades.

The state senator added that he is considering the Woodstock area for his campaign headquarters.

Former U.S. Congressman Bob Barr also will be be making his way to n Cherokee in an effort to “demonstrate that it’s Barr Country,” said Jeff Breedlove, Barr’s campaign manager.

As part of the demonstration, Breedlove said Barr will be joining in on the parades in Woodstock and Canton and will get into Canton early to hear the reading of the U.S. Declaration of Independence on the steps of the Historic Courthouse at 5 p.m., Breedlove said.

“He’s really, really devoting a large part of July Fourth to Cherokee County, because he understands the importance of Cherokee County in this election,” Breedlove said.

Tricia Pridemore, a Cobb County resident and former executive director of the Governor’s Office of Workforce Development, will also be making stops in Cherokee for Independence Day.

Pridemore said since announcing her candidacy for the seat six weeks ago, she’s been in Cherokee regularly.

“Cherokee County is 30 percent of this district,” she said. “We’re going to work incredibly hard over the next year to make sure that all voters in Cherokee County know me, know my platform, know my team, know the kind of congresswoman I’ll be.”

To help Cherokee County voters get more acquainted with her, Pridemore said she’ll being joining in on the Independence Day parade in Canton and will have campaign representatives in the Woodstock parade.

State Rep. Ed Lindsey (R-Buckhead), the state House Majority Whip, won’t be taking part in any of the public festivities, but said he will be finishing out his holiday at a private Fourth of July party with campaign supporters in Cherokee County.

Lindsey said he’s been in Cherokee regularly as of late and plans to keep it that way.

“I’ve generally been in Cherokee at least once a week for the last four or five weeks,” said Lindsey, who has served in the House since 2004. “And I plan on being there at least once a week all through July.”

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